On the afternoon of Saturday, October 29th, 2005, on Union Square in Manhattan, Falun Gong practitioners rallied to thank the US government for helping to rescue Chinese Falun Gong practitioner Li Weixun out of China even though she has no relatives in the US.
During the activities, Li Weixun, who arrived in the US in September, expressed her appreciation to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), US government officials, and some NGOs. With tears, she also described her painful experiences at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which brought her to the verge of death.
Persecuted for Practising Falun Gong. Transferred to Another Country. Family Members Sentenced to Prison
From the age of nine, Li Weixun had several diseases, including rheumatism, heart disease, and an insufficient blood supply to her brain. After she married and had children, her diseases became more serious. In the spring of 1996, she started to practise Falun Gong. After studying the principles of Falun Gong and practising the exercises, the diseases she had suffered from for more than thirty years totally disappeared.
When the Chinese Communist Party started to persecute Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, Li Weixun went to appeal for Falun Gong three times. She was also arrested by police four times. The fourth time that she was arrested, she was tortured until she was incapable of moving or eating. Only after the hospital issued a notice saying that she was critically ill was she allowed to be bailed out. Later, with the assistance of her relatives, she was able to escape from being monitored by police, escape to outside China, and obtain refugee status from the UNHCR.
Li Weixun's older brother was sentenced to eight years in prison for helping her and other Falun Gong practitioners. Simultaneously, nine members of Li Weixun's family were either arrested or fled. Her second youngest sister was sentenced for three years in Longsan Forced Labour Camp. Li Weixun was sentenced to sixteen years in prison in her absence. Her older brother was sentenced to eight years in prison. Her sister-in-law fled from China. Her first youngest sister, the sister and brother-in-law of her first sister-in-law were all arrested.
Li Weixun said, "I am just a ordinary Chinese person, I am not famous, just a Falun Gong practitioner. What I have seen and my personal experiences are just a small portion of the persecution that Falun Gong practitioners have suffered from. Within this persecution, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) twists the facts and tries to force people to give up their belief and betray their conscience and principles by deceiving them with lies, brainwashing them with warped 'logic,' and taking advantage of their love for their families. The feeling of mental devastation is bone-piercing. I remember after my third arrest I was taken to the basement at the Liaoning Province Liaison Office in Beijing. After dinner, the police officers there had 'fun' by torturing us in all kinds of ways, including hanging us by our handcuffs, forcing us to squat with our arms stretched out level with our shoulders. They were particularly brutal with the male practitioners. One newly married couple were both practitioners. The police tortured the husband in front of his wife so she was compelled to watch him suffer and hear him scream. They even asked her, 'So, how do you feel?'"
"Hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have suffered worse abuse than I, and my family is not the only one to be broken up by the persecution. During this unprecedented catastrophe, some practitioners were disabled, some suffered mental collapses, and some even lost their lives. The pressure and persecution their families are forced to endure also exceeds the scope of one's imagination. Hundreds of thousands of families were forcibly separated and destroyed."
Calling for More Attention and Support from the International Community
During the rally, Li Weixun thanked the US government, Congress and NGOs who helped to rescue her. She thanked them for accepting her and other Falun Gong practitioners before her. She mentioned that at the same time, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners were still being cruely tortured in China. There are also many practitioners like her who have escaped to countries bordering China and are waiting to be accepted by a third country. Their lives are very difficult.
She is convinced that after Falun Gong practitioners clarify the truth on a deeper level, more and more Chinese people like her brother will step forward and resist this persecution. On the other hand, she also wishes that the US government, US residents, and the international society could uphold their conscience and kindness, further understand the truth of Falun Gong, and further realise their support for Falun Gong in order to stop this brutal persecution. She called for more countries and more people to oppose the persecution.
Striving to Support the Voice of Justice
Another practitioner mentioned that Ms. Li's experience of the persecution is typical of practitioners in China. Practitioners regained physical and mental health through the practice, and elevated their moral standards. However, because of their firm belief in "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance," the CCP government brutally persecuted them.
This six-year long severe human rights abuse against the believers of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" throughout all of China is fundamentally a persecution of all of mankind. Ms. Li Weixun does not have any relatives in the US. She has been accepted by the US government with the status of United Nations refugee. The supporters of the UNHCR and the US government demonstrated their affirmation of morality and spiritual beliefs, as well as resistance against a tyranny which harms the innocent.
Practitioners have persisted in their noble faith despite this most vicious persecution by this dictatorship, and thereby have protected the morality and dignity of the entire human race. They are heroes of our era. I wish that the international society could offer them support and assistance while they are suffering. This is also an act to maintain the morality and justice of mankind.
Some passersby expressed their congratulations to Li Weixun and their support of freedom of belief. Many people also accepted truth-clarifying materials. More and more New Yorkers now know the story about Li Weixun and the truth of Falun Gong.
I truly wish that the United States, a nation created by people seeking freedom of belief, can strive to support the voice of justice, for it is essential to the continuation of mankind, "Let More People Like Li Weixun Live in Freedom."
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